Asia

Photo of the Week: Traffic

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IMG_2825Hanoi, Viet Nam

The traffic in Vietnam is notorious.  This picture of a gentleman smoking on his bike while surging ahead of the crowd was taken on the chaotic streets of Hanoi. The streets are often congested with motorcycles, cars, and bikes jostling to get to their various destinations.  In Vietnam, crossing the street is often a feat in and of itself. 

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Photo of the Week: Overgrown Roots

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IMG_5038Siem Reap, Cambodia

I’ve seen many iconic images of overgrown roots spreading over dilapidated temples in photographs and movies like Tomb Raider over the years.  So when I finally got to see it with my own eyes, I was beyond excited. So excited, in fact that I jumped over a step leading into the temple, tripped and came tumbling down, camera and all. I got a nasty bruise, a few scrapes, and hundreds of pictures to remember this place by.

Ta Prohm is one of the many Angkor temples that was abandoned and reclaimed by nature when the Empire fell in the 17th century.  When it was rediscovered later, this popular temple was left untouched by archaeologists, leaving it in it’s natural state.  Massive silk-cotton trees grew tall over the broken down buildings, their large canopy blocking out the sun and the rest of the world. The gigantic gnarly roots twist over the grounds reaching through walls and windows, intertwining and becoming one with the temple. The weight of nature sits heavily on the man-made building causing it to bow down from the burden over centuries ago.

As you walk through the rubble and climb over trees, you can’t help but feel like one of the early explorers. This strange, haunted place indelibly made an impression that will forever be etched into my mind.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Photo of the Week: Luxury

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IMG_9607Dubai, UAE

On our trip to Dubai, we visited the famous Burj Al Arab, the world’s only 7 star hotel.  The distinctive sail-shaped silhouette stands out among the city’s many stunning buildings.  We got to see the decadent interior and experience the extraordinary service when we came here for afternoon tea service.  We had a blissful time indulging our sweet tooth while admiring the view overlooking the Persian Gulf.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Photo of the Week: Pagoda

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IMG_2136Hanoi, Viet Nam

This picture was taken of Tran Quoc pagoda, located on a small island near the southeastern shore of Hanoi’s West Lake. This temple dates back to the sixth century, making it one of the oldest in the city.  The main tower consists of eleven octagonal floors representing the various stages of of Buddha’s life. On the grounds of Tran Quoc, you’ll find a bodhi tree, supposedly grown from the  cutting taken from the original tree where Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment.

Standing on the shore, you can see the pagoda clearly reflected on the surface of West Lake. Even though it’s in the middle of a noisy bustling city, there is a sense of calm and tranquility when you step onto the island.  People speak in hushed tones in deference to the religious silence observed throughout the temple.   Like many people over the years, we had gone there to pray and pay homage to Buddha when we visited Vietnam a few years ago.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Trip Report: Hong Kong

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screenshot-www.travellerspoint.com 2015-01-19 13-55-29

Hong Kong is a mix of modern ideas and ancient traditions that exists harmoniously side by side.  Steeped in its Chinese roots and colonial influences, Hong Kong blossomed into a vibrant metropolitan city.  Similar to New York, Hong Kong is well known for its expansive skyline and dense population.  Hong Kong is intense, there is a constant buzz that creates an energy that radiates throughout the city.  Every time you visit, you peel back the layers and discover more things to love about this city. This trip report summarizes all the blog posts related to our trip to Hong Kong and provides a break down of the cost.

  • Time Cost
    • Total Days In Hong Kong: 4 days
    • Total Days Off From Work: 2 days

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Hong Kong: Occupy Central Photo Essay

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IMG_6830

We were in Hong Kong as protests broke out across the city.  It started in Central and grew in size, overtaking some of the major areas of the city. The people of Hong Kong were protesting the Chinese government for the right to elect their own chief executive in 2017.   The movement gained momentum and support over social media as it got prominent coverage in the world press.

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Hong Kong: Top 7 Things To Do

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IMG_6445

View of Hong Kong harbor from Victoria peak

Hong Kong is a world class city.  Getting to and around Hong Kong is easy and effortless – from the customs and immigration process to figuring out public transportation.  We got off our flight and were at our hotel within an hour.  We took the airport express, which takes about 24 minutes from the airport to Kowloon station, and costs about 70 HKD (~$10USD).

When we were there, it was September and the weather was still unbearably hot.  Every time we walked outside, we would turn into a puddle of sweat within a few minutes.  It made walking around difficult, but we persevered. In no particular order, here are some of our favorite touristy places to visit in Hong Kong, most of which are free to do:

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Eating in Hong Kong

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Steamed fish in soya sauce

This post was a long time coming.  It’s hard to believe that we were in Hong Kong three months ago!  Yes, that means I am very very behind on my posts.  Anyways, now that winter is here, it’s the best time to catch up.  Here is a short recap of our trip:  We found a cheap ticket to Hong Kong and decided last minute that we wanted to spend our anniversary in Asia, so off we went.  We were there for 4 days, but we managed to fit in quite a bit of food, but now that I think of it, that’s the norm when we travel.  This post will be the highlights of all the food we ate while in Hong Kong. Continue reading →

Year in Review – 2014

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2014 Map

It’s that time of year again. The end of December is when everyone looks back over their year and makes lists. So far be it for us to not follow the trend.

2014 was one hell of a year for us. In addition to starting this blog, we still found some time to travel around the world while working full time. We were on the road almost once a month in 11 separate trips. We finally got to cross off Australia and Peru from our bucket list, which were over 2 years in planning. We’ve even literally flown around the world – flying only eastward to Australia through Abu Dhabi and then eastward home through Los Angeles. We also visited our 6th continent – only one more to go! The more we see on our travels, the more we wanted to see.

Some of the more impressive stats include: over 91,000 miles flown, on 42 individual flight segments. 7 countries, 5 continents. We spent over 26 hours flying in first class, 70 hours in business, and countless hours in coach.  12 of those flights were over 8 hours long, and 5 of those 12 were more than 12 hours – thats a lot of long-haul flying.  Even with all that however, we fell short of of the re-qualification threshold for American Airlines Executive Platinum status – 100k miles. It looks like next year we’ll have to settle for being just Platinum. This means no more unlimited domestic upgrades, and no 8 SWUs for international flights, but we still get lounge access and priority seating/boarding, etc. We also have a stash of points built up this year we’ll work on using up in 2015.

Our trips in 2014 included:

This past year we specifically planned more travel than normal in order to maximize the benefits of our status. This resulted in a lot of busy weekends and running around packing, unpacking, and repacking. In fact, it felt like we spent most of 2014 living out of our suitcase. All this travel definitely took its toll on our bodies.  Between the long-haul flights, meals in airport lounges, time changes, jet lag, busy weekends, and packed schedules to fit as much in as possible on our trips we both feel a bit worn down.  Even though we loved every minute of of our whirlwind year, we’re also looking forward to some R&R time at home this winter. For 2015, we have a lot of ideas of where we want to go, but nothing concrete planned. We are excited to start planning our next adventure around the world (any suggestions?).  It’ll be hard to top 2014, but we can’t wait to see what 2015 brings. We wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

Photo of the Week: Sand

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IMG_5642Mui Ne, Viet Nam

It’s hard to believe that this dessert is located next to the ocean in the tropical city of Mui Ne, Viet Nam. Mui Ne used to be a small fishing village but has blossomed into a full blown resort town full of upscale hotels.  Just down the street from all the new fancy resorts are the photogenic Red Sand Dunes. The contrasting warm sand against the cold blue sky makes for very pretty photos.

During our stay in this quaint beach town,  we decided to visit this natural attraction and go sand dune sledding. The minute you get out of the car, you are swarmed by the local children that compete to get your attention.  They want to guide you up the dune to the best spot to go sand sledding.  They also want to rent you the sled, which is nothing more than a thin sheet of plastic that you can sit on and hold for dear life as you slide down the hill. We spent an hour or two happily frolicking in the sand, taking turns rolling around and launching ourselves off of the hot dunes. This spot is frequented by many locals and foreign visitors.  As dusk approaches, people gather here to watch the last sun rays fall over the rippling sands.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.